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Federal agencies responsible for security and personal data of millions of Americans failed to implement basic defenses against cyberattack, scathing report finds

Seven out of eight federal agencies responsible for security and oversight of millions of Americans failed to overcome significant cybersecurity flaws they were made aware of more than two years ago, a damning new report finds. 

The new findings titled 'Federal Cybersecurity: America's Data Still At Risk' is an update on a June 2019 report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee which flagged 'systemic failures' in eight federal agencies to meet even 'basic cybersecurity standards.'   

Failures from 2019 that were detected again in the new report include use of outdated digital systems no longer supported by security updates. Five agencies were found to lack accurate and comprehensive tools to track their software and hardware records.

Some of those agencies are the State Department, Homeland Security , the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education . 

Democratic Senator Gary Peters chairs the Homeland Security CommitteeSenator Rob Portman was the committee chair when the 2019 report was released

The Senate Homeland Security Committee, led by Chairman Gary Peters and Ranking Member Rob Portman , released the scathing 47-page report

The blistering report accuses the government of using outdated systems and insufficiently tracking both personal and classified government data

The blistering report accuses the government of using outdated systems and insufficiently tracking both personal and classified government data

In the most recent update, only DHS was found to have strengthened its cyber defenses - the other seven agencies were accused of 'minimal improvements.'

'As such, this report finds that these seven Federal agencies still have not met the basic cybersecurity standards necessary to protect America's sensitive data,' the report, led by Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman, states.

Agencies were assigned letter grades from A through F, the latter being the lowest. DHS scored highest - with just a B.

The State Department ranked among the lowest with a D grade after it failed to show records of 60 percent of its employees with access to its classified information network. It also left thousands of classified and non-classified accounts active even after the employee had left the department. 

Also with D grades were DOE, SSA and the Department of Transportation . In a test of the former's systems, a DOE watchdog was able to pull hundreds of personal data files including 200 credit card numbers 'without the agency detecting or blocking it.'

The DOT, run by former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, owned nearly 15,000 mobile devices, servers and workstations that it had no record of, its watchdog found.

Pete Buttigieg's agency the DOT owned nearly 15,000 assets it had no record of at the time of its watchdog's auditThe State Department, led by Antony Blinken as of 2021, was found at the time of audit to have left thousands of employee accounts active after the employee had left

The Department of Transportation, led by Pete Buttigieg, and the State Department, led by Antony Blinken, were found to have some of the most significant cybersecurity flaws

DHS, despite having the best grade, was the only agency whose watchdog didn't submit an annual evaluation to Congress. Its flagship cybersecurity program 'suffers from significant limitations in detecting and preventing intrusions.'

The SSA, which 'houses sensitive financial information on every working and retired American,' was warned by its Inspector General that outdated systems and inadequate tracking of its own hardware and software could put millions of Americans at risk of 'significant harm or distress.'

In response the agency responsible for the benefits of 64 million people criticized the watchdog for overstating 'any negative control sample' and supposed failure to provide a 'holistic view' of its programs. 

'It is clear that the data entrusted to these eight key agencies remains at risk,' the report reads. 'Congress and the executive branch cannot continue to allow personal and national security secrets to remain vulnerable.'

Senators also accused the federal government of relying on expensive 'legacy systems' which are difficult to secure and divert funding away from newer and more reliable security efforts.

They blame the patchwork of flaws on the government's failure to create a 'unified cybersecurity strategy' against a landscape of increasingly frequent and sophisticated cybersecurity attacks.

In 2020 alone the White House reported more than 30,000 'information security incidents' across the entire federal US government, an 8 percent increase from 2019.

The White House reported 30,819 'information security incidents' across the entire federal government in 2020

The White House reported 30,819 'information security incidents' across the entire federal government in 2020

The 2020 SolarWinds hack allowed Russian cyber-spies to infiltrate nine federal agencies and remain undetected for at least nine months until detected by FireEye, a private cybersecurity firm which was also compromised.

In April 2021 the government detected Chinese hackers bypassing passwords and multifactor authentication via remote access to breach multiple agencies' data.

The report states that incidents like these 'illustrate the considerable threat facing federal agencies.'  

'Unpatched critical vulnerabilities and shadow IT make breaking agencies' networks and stealing sensitive data easier and cheaper, at a time when the Federal Government should be making it harder and more expensive,' lawmakers write.

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